Hi all. Just joined here as I was looking for information on Cytopoint experiences since my dog is in the middle of his seasonal outbreak and I'm trying desperately to stay away from drugs. Adding my experience here for anyone else in the same predicament. Apologies in advance for the length:
My dog’s name is Daryl. According to wisdom panel, he’s 87% American Staffy and 13% American bulldog. He is a neutered male who is almost 5 years old. I’ve had him for almost four years. I live on the north side of Chicago. When I first got him in February 2017, he had no allergies, but as our first summer together progressed, he started having small welts and would lick his paws and scratch at his face. He was put on Apoquel for the first summer, but it began losing its effectiveness towards the end. I then transitioned him to a partially raw diet (raw at night, kibble in the morning) and that seemed to reduce his outbreak so that it only lasted a couple months versus the almost 6 months he had it initially. I kept him on Apoquel for a month or two during the summers, but it stopped working entirely and I didn’t want to keep it up anyway given the warnings about long-term use.
Last year on August 28th when the licking and scratching returned full force, we tried the cytopoint shot. Nine days later, September 6, he had an upset stomach and was vomiting and unable to keep food down. I fasted him for a day then fed him a bland diet for a few days, with varying degrees of success. He didn’t improve until he went on Cerenia and continued the bland diet for a week or more. I can’t say if it was related to the shot or not since it happened so far from the date of the shot, but I couldn’t pinpoint anything else that would have caused it and he’s not had these issues before. For the most part, aside from that, the shot seemed to help with his itching, though he seemed to have more ear funk after the shot. He only had the one shot and it got him through the 2019 season.
All that said, before the shot, he was hovering in weight around 78 lbs. Since the shot, nothing has changed as far as his diet, but he hovers around 83 lbs (he was 85 lbs the last time I weighed him). I have been cutting down his food and increasing his exercise, but the only way he lost 2.5 lbs was when we were walking more than 14 miles every weekend (plus 4-5 mile walks every weekday). When that was not sustainable due to the hot summer we’ve been having, he quickly gained it back. He honestly doesn’t eat that much (12-14 ounces of raw at night and ¾ cup of kibble with pumpkin in the morning). Of course, there are treats here and there, but fewer than he used to get, and I still can’t get his weight down. His blood work was fine when I last had it checked in November 2019. His allergies are getting bad again and I’m trying to treat it holistically with baths and wipes and such because even though everyone says weight gain is not a side effect, I feel like it messed up his system somehow. I saw a couple other people mention weight gain online so maybe I’m not completely off base… something to consider before going down the Cytopoint road and the main reason I'm staying away from it.
the pet funeral home just picked him up for cremation. we washed him and blow dried his beautiful fur and spent time holding him. i’m sick over this and filled with guilt. my sweet teddy is gone and i am racked with grief. the pix below is on the day his was given the injection. 9 days later he’s dead. 
